Founder of the Action People Congress (APC) Hassan Ayariga has insisted that he will offer the New Patriotic Party (NPP) $20 million to forgo the US Military base proposal.
President Nana Akufo-Addo was reported to have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation with the United States from Parliament to allow for broader consultations.
Cabinet approved the MoU on March 8, 2018, and recommended that Parliament ratifies the agreement to allow US forces and their equipment unhindered access in Ghana.
Per the agreement, the US military is, among other things, to be exempted from paying tax on the equipment to be brought into Ghana.
They will also be given the chance to set their own telecommunication system, although they will be allowed to use Ghana’s radio spectrum free of charge.
The move has been widely criticized by some Ghanaians who have argued that the decision to allow unrestricted access will not benefit Ghana.
And according to the APC Leader, said he was dead serious about giving Ghana $20 million, if all it will take for the NPP government to back out of the deal during an a phone interview with Kwame Afrifa Mensah on Happy FM’s Epa Hoa Daben Show.
“I will give Ghana 20 million to back out from this proposal. I’m holding a cheque of $20 million, if Parliament doesn’t sign the law I’ll give the money to relief Ghana’s sovereignty in respect to the US proposal,” Ayariga said.
“Chinese are now in charge of our lands using it for Galamsey and destroying it, which is unfortunate. Don’t we have common sense?
“We will shut down Parliament if they allow that. We don’t want them to agree that’s why we are behaving this way
“If the Parliamentarians are of no use, we must shut Parliament down because they are supposed to protect us but they doing otherwise. This is why I’m offering the $20 million.”
By: Eugene Baah
